Flat cable connector

ABSTRACT

This invention provides a connector for flat multiconductor cable. Cables to be connected are inserted in slots on opposite sides of a housing, there being an upper and a lower contact adjacent the slot for each cable conductor to be mated. There is an eccentrically mounted cam for each upper contact which cams are commonly actuated to force the upper contacts into engagement with cable positioned in the slot. Each upper and lower contact has a pointed projection for each cable to be joined which projections pierce the insulation of the cable when the cams are actuated, pinching the conductor of the cable therebetween to assure good physical and electrical contact of the cable connector with the connector contacts. If there is a metalic ground shield on the cable, an extra pair of contacts are provided adjacent the slot which contacts have teeth for engaging the shielding. A cam is provided for the upper of the shield engaging contacts which cam is operated by the same means as the other cams of the connector.

[5 FLAT CABLE CONNECTOR [75] Inventor: Robert Francis Dorrell, DesPlaines,

[73] Assignee: Bunker Ramo Corporation, Oak

Brook, Ill.

22 Filed: Nov. 28, 1972 21 Appl. No.: 310,059

[52] US. Cl. 339/99, 339/14, 339/17 F,

339/176 MF, 339/274 R [51] Int. Cl H01r 9/06 [58] Field of Search339/17, 74, 75, 14, 9599, 339/174, 176, 198,248, 204, 205, 252, 255,

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,968,016 l/l96l Angele339/75 MP 3,041,575 6/1962 Schneider 339/99 R 3,070,771 12/l962Piorunneck 339/274 X 3,201,744 8/1965 Dean 339/97 P 3,307,139 2/1967Prise 339/205-X 3,541,490 11/1970 Berg 339/95 R X 3,671,924 6/1972Nagano 339/95 D 3,691,509 9/1972 Krol 339/14 R 10/1972 Henschen 339/17 FAssistant Examiner-Terrell P. Lewis Attorney, Agent, or Firm-N. Cass;Frederick M.

Arbuckle [5 7 ABSTRACT This invention provides a connector for flatmulticonductor cable. Cables to be connected are inserted in slots onoppositesides of a housing, there being an upper and a lower contactadjacent the slot for each cable conductor to be mated. There is aneccentrically mounted cam for each upper contact which cams are commonlyactuated to force the upper contacts into engagement vwith cablepositioned in the slot. Each upper and lower contact has a pointedprojection for each cable to be joined which projections pierce theinsulation of the cable when the cams are actuated, pinching theconductor of the cable therebetween to assure good physical andelectrical contact of the cable connector with the connector contacts.If there is a metalic ground shield on the cable, an extra pair ofcontacts are provided adjacent the slot which "contacts have teeth forengaging the shielding. A cam is provided for the upper of the shieldengaging contacts which cam is operated by the same means as the othercams of the connector.

10 Claims, 7 Drawing Figures ists, to ground contacts of the connector.

FLAT CABLE CONNECTOR- This invention relates toa connectorfor'flatmulticonductor cable.

- BACKGROUND or THE INVENTION Existing flat cable connectors are of twogeneral types. Most of these connectors'require that the cableinsulation be removed from at least aportion of the cable to expose thecable conductors. Expo'sed conductors are then mounted in the connectorin contact with exposed conductors of the cable to-be connectedto orwith electrical contacts of the connector. While these connectors may berelatively simple andinexpensive in construction, they have thedisadvantage of requiring prestripping of the cable. Since thisprestrippingmust frequently be done with fairly high precision in orderto prevent damage to the conductors and for the cable to fit properlyinto the connector, prestripping of the cable is a difficult, timeconsuming, and therefore expensive operation.

2 v sition. The cams for all the contacts are joined together andare'operated by a single means, such as, for example, a common'shaft. Anadditional moveable contact .may be provided having projections adaptedto engage .the cable shield. This additional contact is operated by Inectors of this invention.

no.2 is a partially broken awa front viewalong line lnorder to overcomethe need for prestripping cable,

insulation pie'rcingflat cable connectors have been-developed. Theseconnectors, however, have generally been bulky, expensiveand-complicated to use, frequently requiring the use of specializedtools in order to secure the cable in the connector. Additionalconnection operations are also frequently required in order toelectrically-connect cable shielding, where this ex- From the above itis clear that a need exists for an insulation piercing flat cableconnector which is (I) quick and simple to operate withoutrequiring theuse FIGS. 3, 4 and 5 are sectional views along the line '3 3 of FIG. 2showing respectively the connector before cable is inserted therein,after cable is inserted therein but before the cam is operated, and withthe cable in the connector and the cam operated,

FIG. 6 is a front sectional view of a slightly modified embodiment ofthe invention.

FIG. 7 is a sectional view along the line 77 of FIG.

6 showing the modified form of the invention withv shielded cable inthe-connector and the cam operated.

' DETAILED-DESCRIPTION Referring now to FIGS, 1, 2, and 3, it is seenthat the connector l0-consists ofa housing of dielectric material whichis divided intoan upper housing section 12A of any special tools, (2relatively simple in design and thus inexpensiveto manufacture, and (3)which per mits electricalconnection to be made to aground shield of acable as partof the same operation during which electrical connection ismade tothe conductors of the cable.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In accordance with the above, this inventionprovides a connector for flatcables which cables each have at least oneinsulation covered conductor. The connector includes a housing havingatleast one cable receiving slot. A moveable contact is mounted in thehousing adjacent the slot, a separate moveable contact being provided'for each conductor of the cable. There is a pointed projection on eachcontact for each of the cables to be joined, the projections being onthe side of the contact adjacent the slotsA cam followersurface isprovided on the opposite side of each contact. There is also a cameccentrically mounted in the housing for each of the moveable contacts,wich each cam being rotatable between an inoperative and an operative p0sition. When inits operative position, each camcoacts with thecamfollower surface of the corresponding moveable contact to drive thecontact againstcable po sitioned in the slot. When this occurs, theprojections on the contacts pierce the cable insulation to makeisprovided on the opposite side of the slot from each moveable contact,with the conductor of the cable being pinched between projections on thefixed and 4 moveable contacts when the cam is in its operative poand' alower housing section l2B.-Sections 12A and 12B may be snap-fittedtogether with projections 14 on section 12B fitting into grooves. 16onsection 12A. In the alternative, the sections may be bolted together,glued together, fused together by che application of ,heatand pressureafter assembly, or held together by any other suitablemeans. Groovesformed in each of the sections form a cable receiving slots 18 whichextend into the center of the connector housing from I each end. Flatcables 20 having conductors 22 surrounded; by insulation 24are' insertedinto the slots 18, with the two cables to be connected being insertedinto the slots on opposite sides of the housing.

As may be best seen in FIGS. 2 and 3, there is a cavity 26 formed in.housing 123 adjacent slot vl8 for each conductor 22 of the cable. A.lower contact 28 having at each of its ends an angled leading surface 31terminating in vpointed projection 30 is positioned in each of thecavities 26. There is also a cavity 32 formed in 'upper housing 12Aforeach conductor 22. An upper contact 34 is positioned in each cavity 32and is free to move laterally therein. Referring to FIG. 3 it is seenthat each contact 34ha's an upper cam surface 36, the function of whichwill be described shortly, and angled leading surfaces 38 at each of itsends, each of which angled surfaces terminates in a pointed projection40. Projections 40 normally extend through a slot 18 into partialengagement with the corresponding projections t 30 of contact 28.

Extending through upper housing section 12A is a channel 41 havingenlarged portions 43 adjacent each of the slots '32. Channel 41 extendsabove and perpendicular to. slot 18. A shaft 46 is positioned in channel41. Cams-42, eccentrically m'ountedyon shaft 46, are

positioned in each extended portion 43. Cams 42 and shaft 46 arepreferably of a metalic material with a dielectric coating 44, themetalic material providing strength and the dielectric coatingelectrical insulation. However, cams of a hard dielectric material mayalso be utiIiZed'Attached to one end of shaft 46 is a squareshaped knob48 having affixed thereto a circular flange 50.'Grooves 52 spaced 180apart are formed in flange 50. Attached to housing 12A is a spring 5 4having resilient detenting projections 56 at either end and an openingat its center through which shaft 46 projects. At least one wall of slot52 is chamferred or angled so as to provide a camming surface to removeprojection 56 from slot 52 when knob 48 is turned to rotate shaft 46.Slots 52 and spring 54 thus provide two stable, easily recognizedpositions, 180 apart, in which cams 42, shaft 46 and knob 48 may bepositioned'and held.

To assemble the' connector shown in the figures, contacts 28 are firstplaced into cavities 26 of lower housing 12B. Contacts 34 are thenpositioned and nested on top of contacts 28. Next, upper housing 12A isplaced over the projectingsurfaces of contacts 28,

' projections 14 fitting into openings 16 to assure proper orientationbetween the two housing sections. As indicated previously, the twohousings are secured together by snap-fitting, bonding, fusing, or othersuitable means.

When the housings have been secured together, eccentric shaft 46 withcams 42 positioned thereon and coating 44deposited thereon, is insertedinto channel 41 with the cams each resting in an enlarged portion 43 ofthe channel. The ends of shaft 46 rest on curved surfaces 47 formed inhousing 12A at each end of channel 41. Cap 61 is then placed into anopening formed in the top of housing 12A over channel 41 and bonded orfused to the top surface of housing 12A. Cap 61 has end portions 49 withcurved surfacesSl that engage shaft 46 entrapping the entire cammingassembly in the connector. Finally, detent spring 54 is mounted on theshaft and secured to housing 12A and knob 48 is secured to shaft 46.

In operation, knob 48 and shaft 46 are initially positioned so that cams42' are as shown in FIG. 3 with their low dwells adjacent cam followersurfaces 36 of contacts 34. Since contacts 34 are not initially biased,they rest, under the influence of gravity, on the corresponding contacts28 as shown in FIG. 3. When cable is inserted into slot 18 of theconnector, the leading edge of the cable bears against angled surface 38at the end of contact 34 and rides along this surface and the angledleading surface of pointed projection 40 to cam contact 34 in an upwarddirection. Once contact 34 has been cammed out of the way, the cable maybe fully inserted into the slot 18 as shown in HO. 4. The exact amountof cable which is inserted into the connector at each end is notcritical. However, sufficient cable should be inserted into the slot sothat projections 40 engage the cable well behind its leading edge. Theamount of cable inserted cannot, however, cause the cable to extendbeyond the end of the slot which issubstantially even with projection 60on contact 34. The cables may both be inserted at the same time as shownin FIG. 3, or the two cables to be connected may be inserted in the slot18 separately. j

When both cables are properly positioned in the connector as shown inFIG. 4, knob 48 is rotated, for example counterclockwise, causing springprojections 56 to be cammed out of slot 52. When knob 48 has beenretated a full 180, causing cams 42 to be positioned as shown in FIG. 5,with their high dwells adjacent cam follower surfaces 36 of contacts 34,slots 52 are again adjacent projections 56, permitting the projectionsto spring back into the slots to lock the knob 48, shaft 46 and cams 42in their new position. As each cam 42 is rotated, its high dwell coactswith the corresponding cam follower surface 36 of contact 34, forcingthe contact downward against cables 20. As this is done, pointedprojections pierce insulation 24 adjacent the corresponding conductor 22and make electrical contact with the conductors. The cable is distortedin the area of projections 30 and 40 with the conductor being pushed.through the bottom insulation and effectively pinched between the twoprojections to assure good physical and electrical contact between theconductor 22 and both-contacts. Contacts 28 and 34 provide a lowresistance electrical path between the cable conductors.

When a cable 20 is to be removed from connector 10, know 48 is againrotated 180 until slots 52 are again adjacent projections 56 of spring54. With shaft 46 in this position, a low dwell of each cam 42 isadjacent cam follower surface 36 of the corresponding contact 34. Thecontacts are thus free to move away from engagement with cables 20, butremain in the position shown in FIG. 5 under the influence of gravity.However, with the holding force removed from contacts 34, cable 20 maybe pulled out of the connector by exerting pressure thereon. The forceapplied to the cable causes the conductor of the cable to exert force onthe inclined trailing surface of projection 40 effectively camming thecontact out of the way to permit the conductor to be removed.

It should be noted that, while in the discussion above the force of thecable on inclined leading surface 38 and on the inclined leading andtrailing surfaces of pro- 40 jection 40 have been considered adequate toraise contact 34 out of the way of the cable when the cable is insertedor removed from the connector, a bias spring or other biasing means may,if desired, be provided to normally hold contacts 34 in a raisedposition. With such a biasing means, the contacts would always return tothis position when cams 42 are in a position with the low dwell of thecam adjacent surface 36. While such a biasing means does simplify cableinsertion and withdrawal, it also increases the cost of and the forcerequired to actuate the connector.

A connector for flat multiconductor cable has thus been provided whichpermits connection to be made to the cable by easily hand-inserting thecable therein without any prestripping of the cable or the requirementof any special tools. Insulation piercing and electrical connection toall conductors of the cable is effected through the rotation of a singleknob. A simple, easily fabricated, easily utilized connector for flatcoaxial cable is thus provided.

Referring in particular to FIGS. 1 and 3, it is seen that a cap 61,which covers the channel 41 and enlarged channel portions 43 in whichcams 42 and shaft 46 are positioned projects above the surface ofhousing section 12A. There is a mating groove 62 in the bottom ofhousing section 128 for the projecting portion of cap 61 which permitsthe connectors 10 to be easily stacked as shown in FIG. 1. Suitableflanges may also be provided on housings 12 for wall mountingorotherwise mounting one or more of the-connectors.

FIGS. 6 and 7 illustrate an embodiment of the invention which differsfrom that shown in FIGS. 1-5 only in that cable has a metalic groundshield 70 around it and in the provision of a pair of ground shieldcontacts 72 and 74 in place of the contacts 28 and 34 respectively forthe right-most conductor position. Contact 72 has an angled leadingsurface 76 at each end which terminates in a row of shield-engagingteeth '78. Upper contact 74 has an angled leading surface 80 at each endwhich terminates in a row of shield-engaging teeth 82. Upper contact 74also has a cam follower surface 84 along its upper edge. I

In operation, shield 70 is cut-back slightly before'the cable isinserted in slot 18. Then, when knob 48 is rotated to move the highdwells of cams 42 into engagement with cam follower surfaces 36 of uppercontacts 34, the rotation of shaft 46 also brings the high dwell of thecam 42 adjacent contact 74 into engagement with cam follower surface 84,forcing contact 74 into engagement with the cut-back shielding 70 oneach of the cables 20. With the cam in a fully operated position asshown in FIG. 7, the shielding is pinched between contacts 72 and 74with the teeth 78 .and 82 of the contacts digging into the shielding toassure good physical and electrical contact with the shielding. Thus,electricaljcontact is established and connection effected with both theconductors 22 of cables 20 and the shielding 70 of the cable as a resultof a single l 80 rotation of a knob. It should be noted that, while theshield engaging contacts are shown in FIG. 6 as being in the right-mostconductor position, this is by way of example only, and these contactsmay, in fact be in any of the conductor positions.

While the invention has been particularly shown and described above withreference to preferred embodiments thereof, it would be apparent'to oneordinarily skilled in the art that the foregoing and other changes inform and detail may be made therein without depart-- ing from'the spiritand scope of the invention.

What is claimed is:

l. A connector for flat cables, said cables each having at least oneinsulation covered conductor comprismg:

a housing having at least one cable receiving slot;

a moveable contact mounted in said housing adjacent said slot, saidcontact having, on the side thereof adjacent said slot, a pointedprojection for each of the cables to be joined and having a cam followersurface on the opposite side thereof;

a cam eccentrically mounted in said housing adjacent the cam followersurface of said contact, said cam being rotatable between an inoperativeand an operative position, the cam in said operative position coactingwith the-cam follower surface to drive the contact against cablespositioned in the slot, said projections piercing the cable insulationto make physical and electrical contact with the conductors of thecables, and

a second contact mounted in said housing on the opposite side of saidslot from the moveable contact, said second contact having a pointedprojection for 6 each cable to be joined, corresponding pro ections onsaid moveable and second contacts being relatively positioned so as topinch the cable conductor therebetween when the cam is in its operativeposition.

2. A connector as claimed in claim 1 wherein said second contact ismounted so as to not be moveable in said housing.

3. A connector as claimed in claim 1 wherein there are a plurality ofconductors in each of the flat cables to be joined; and

including a separate moveable contact for each pair of conductors to beconnected; and

an eccentrically mounted cam for each of said contacts.

4. Aconnectoras claimed in claim 3 includirg a singlecommon means forrotating all of said cams between their operative and inoperativepositions.

5. A connector as claimed in claim 4 wherein said cam and cam rotatingmeans are formed as a single element of a conducting material; and

' including a coating of a dielectric material on at least the cammingsurfaces of said element.

6. A connector as claimed in claim 1 including a conductive shieldlayered'on each of said cables; and including 1 an additional moveablecontact mounted in said housing adjacent said moveable contact,said-additional contact having projections for each cable on the slotside thereof and a cam follower surface on .the opposite side thereof;and an additional eccentrically mounted cam rotatable with said cam andeffective when in=its operative position to coact with the additionalcontact cam follower surface to drive the projections of the additionalcontact into physical and electrical contact with the shield of thecorresponding cable.

7. A connectoras claimed in claim 6 wherein there are a plurality ofconductors for each of the flat cables to be joined;

and includinga separate moveable contact for each pair of conductors tobe connected;

and an eccentrically mounted cam for each of said contacts;

and wherein said additional moveable contact is substituted for one ofsaid separate moveable contacts.

8. A connector as claimed in claim -7 wherein the shielding on saidcables is cut back so as not to be contacted by the projections on saidseparate moveable contacts and wherein the projections onsaid additionalmoveable contacts are positioned so as to engage said shielding.

9. A connector as claimed in claim 1 including means formed as part ofsaid housing for permitting said connector to be stacked with additionallike connectors.

10. A connector for multiconductor flat cables, said cables havinginsulation covering the conductors, said connector comprising:

a housing having at least one cable receiving slot;

a separate moveable contact mounted in said housing adjacent said slotfor each of said cable conductors, each of said contacts having, on theside thereof adjacent said slot, a pointed projection for each of thecables to be joined and having a follower surface on the opposite sidethereof;

5 g a second contact mounted in said housing on the op- 7 8 on saidmoveable and second contacts being relarespective second contact andagainst the cable ptively positioned so as to pinch the cable conductorsitioned in the slot, said projections piercing the therebetween whensaid moveable contact is cable insulation to make physical andelectrical driven towards said second contact, contact with theconductors of the cables; means operative when actuated for bearingagainst and common means for simultaneously actuating all the followersurface of each of said moveable of said contact drive means. contactsto drive the moveable contact towards its v

1. A connector for flat cables, said cables each having at least oneinsulation covered conductor comprising: a housing having at least onecable receiving slot; a moveable contact mounted in said housingadjacent said slot, said contact having, on the side thereof adjacentsaid slot, a pointed projection for each of the cables to be joined andhaving a cam follower surface on the opposite side thereof; a cameccentrically mounted in said housing adjacent the cam follower surfaceof said contact, said cam being rotatable between an inoperative and anoperative position, the cam in said operative position coacting with thecam follower surface to drive the contact against cables positioned inthe slot, said projections piercing the cable insulation to makephysical and electrical contact with the conductors of the cables, and asecond contact mounted in said housing on the opposite side of said slotfrom the moveable contact, said second contact having a pointedprojection for each cable to be joined, corresponding projections onsaid moveable and second contacts being relatively positioned so as topinch the cable conductor therebetween when the cam is in its operativeposition.
 2. A connector as claimed in claim 1 wherein said secondcontact is mounted so as to not be moveable in said housing.
 3. Aconnector as claimed in claim 1 wherein there are a plurality ofconductors in each of the flat cables to be joined; and including aseparate moveable contact for each pair of conductors to be connected;and an eccentrically mounted cam for each of said contacts.
 4. Aconnector as claimed in claim3 3 including a single common means forrotating all of said cams between their operative and inoperativepositions.
 5. A connector as claimed in claim 4 wherein said cam and camrotating means are formed as a single element of a conducting material;and including a coating of a dielectric material on at least the cammingsurfaces of said element.
 6. A connector as claimed in claim 1 includinga conductive shield layered on each of said cables; and including anadditional moveable contact mounted in said housing adjacent saidmoveable contact, said additional contact having projections for eachcable on the slot side thereof and a cam follower surface on theopposite side thereof; and an additional eccentrically mounted camrotatable with said cam and effective when in its operative position tocoact with the addItional contact cam follower surface to drive theprojections of the additional contact into physical and electricalcontact with the shield of the corresponding cable.
 7. A connector asclaimed in claim 6 wherein there are a plurality of conductors for eachof the flat cables to be joined; and including a separate moveablecontact for each pair of conductors to be connected; and aneccentrically mounted cam for each of said contacts; and wherein saidadditional moveable contact is substituted for one of said separatemoveable contacts.
 8. A connector as claimed in claim 7 wherein theshielding on said cables is cut back so as not to be contacted by theprojections on said separate moveable contacts and wherein theprojections on said additional moveable contacts are positioned so as toengage said shielding.
 9. A connector as claimed in claim 1 includingmeans formed as part of said housing for permitting said connector to bestacked with additional like connectors.
 10. A connector formulticonductor flat cables, said cables having insulation covering theconductors, said connector comprising: a housing having at least onecable receiving slot; a separate moveable contact mounted in saidhousing adjacent said slot for each of said cable conductors, each ofsaid contacts having, on the side thereof adjacent said slot, a pointedprojection for each of the cables to be joined and having a followersurface on the opposite side thereof; a second contact mounted in saidhousing on the opposite side of said slot from the moveable contact,said second contact having a pointed projection for each cable to bejoined, corresponding projections on said moveable and second contactsbeing relatively positioned so as to pinch the cable conductortherebetween when said moveable contact is driven towards said secondcontact, means operative when actuated for bearing against the followersurface of each of said moveable contacts to drive the moveable contacttowards its respective second contact and against the cable positionedin the slot, said projections piercing the cable insulation to makephysical and electrical contact with the conductors of the cables; andcommon means for simultaneously actuating all of said contact drivemeans.